An Assassin's Prayer
by The Foolish Traveler
Summary: When we wake up in the morning, we have two simple choices. Go back to sleep and dream...or wake up and chase those dreams. I choose to chase them and become a new person even if it kills me, which it very well may. Rated T for some language


_Well here it is: my first ever cross-over! Please enjoy and be sure to leave a review ;)_

_Here is a summary that more explains what is to happen in the story (I had originally wanted to it put up, but it wouldn't fit) :_

_Regardless of the ninja they have set to protect them, she must kill every one of them. She must do so in stealth, no one can know it was her. She has to do it without forming a friendship, for if that were to happen she would be unable to complete her mission._

* * *

_**'Thoughts'**_

_'Flashbacks'_

"Talking"

* * *

_"To be or not to be. That is the question." _Or, is it?

Everybody knows the old Shakespearean quote. It expresses most of the choices that are presented to us while going through life. It is a question that most of us have asked ourselves, although not in the same words, more than once. But isn't there some way to find a happy medium? Isn't there a way to be both? Surely there must be more to the question than to be one thing or an other, for there is middle for everything. Is there not?

Summer or Winter? Fall. Boy or girl? Hermaphrodite. Walking or Running? Jogging. Red or blue? Purple. Killer or Healer? Hm...

* * *

Katsuya secured the black ribbon holding her orange hair into a ponytail. She pulled the neck of her jumpsuit up to her chin as she glared into the mirror. It was going to be a long night.

_"A partner will only slow me down." Katsuya replied coldly to the elderly man sitting in the mahogany chair before her. _

_"You will not argue with Yukikage." Katsuya resisted the urge to flinch as she felt the all too familiar blow to her face. Her cheek began to throb painfully and she struggled to keep her emotionless mask in place._

_Katsuya bowed respectively and muttered, "Please forgive me, Yukikage. I've no place to speak to you so."_

_"Ha. It is quite alright, young Katsuya. Just as your father mentored you, now you must do the same for another." The old voice spoke kindly to the slender girl. His hair was completely gray and although the man's face was lined with wisdom and understanding Katsuya could still detect the mischievous look of the child that he once was._

Katsuya shook her head, clearing out the memory. A ninja must not dilly-dally, or so her father once told her. She tied the black headband bearing a blank metal plate around her forehead, completing her outfit. Katsuya was completely covered in black, the only part of her exposed was her flaming orange hair and her pale round face. She had once asked her father why they did not wear masks to disguise themselves, earning herself another slap to her face.

_"A ninja of our kind should not ever be seen, so there is no need to disguise one's features." Her father had answered._

_"Then why do we wear black, if we aren't supposed to be seen anyway." Katsuya's young blue eyes shone with unshielded curiosity. Another slap. _

Katsuya Hatsukuono had been training to be a Ninja all her life. Unlike most, she had not become a ninja to help or protect others, she had not done it for money or fame, she had not done it because it was expected of her, and definitely not because she actually enjoyed it. No, she did it because it was in her blood. Like her parents, and their parents before them, Katsuya was an Assassin Ninja.

"Time to meet the poor sap." Katsuya opened her window and leapt out into the night.

* * *

"What the _hell _are you wearing?" Katsuya hissed at the ten-year old in front of her. The idiot had shown up in a red sundress, and black flip-flops. Flip-flops for God's sake! The girl had the nerve to show up late looking like _this._ Oh, but that's not why she was late. No, not at all. She was late because she had to do her _hair, _oh and _then _she messed up her _make-up_, so she had to go back and do it _again._

"What? Don't you like it?"The girl spun around and Katsuya fought the urge to strangle her right then and there.

"Idiot! We're not going to the fucking prom, we're going to _kill _somebody."

The girl gasped and jumped back, as if she had been struck. "You really think I would go to prom in _this."_

_**'Relax, Katsuya. She's only ten. Remain calm. Calm. Calm."**_

"Listen here you little weasel," Katsuya tightened her grip on Chouko's throat, "If you so much as speak without me asking you to, if you talk back to me, if you slip up even once, if you complain _one _time, then you will have hell to pay for. And would you like to know why?"

Chouko remained silent. Katsuya pressed the girl harder to the tree. "Well? Answer me, damnit!"

"Yes ma'am." Chouko squeaked.

"You see, even if being an assassin wasn't your first choice, it _was_ mine. And if we return, mission unaccomplished, then we are both in for it. We would be lucky to be dismissed from our jobs and exiled. But I don't really want to take that chance, and I'm sure that you don't either. Am I correct?"

Katsuya heard another "Yes ma'am."

"That's what I thought." She let the girl fall to the ground. "Now get up, we're already late as it is."

Chouko struggled to her feet, using the tree for support. Katsuya rolled her eyes as she waited for the girl's breath to regulate.

"You alright?" Katsuya asked, hands on her hips. Chouko looked at her in disbelief. Katsuya raised her eyebrows expectantly as Chouko opened her mouth to retort. Fortunately for the girl, she seemed to remember Katsuya's earlier threat and clamped her mouth shut. She settled for a slight nod.

"Good. Ditch the flip-flops and let's go." Katsuya leapt onto a tree branch. When the younger girl didn't follow suit, Katsuya looked down at the girl expectantly.

"D-Ditch my shoes? You mean go barefoot?" Chouko asked incredulously.

"Are you _complaining_?" Katsuya's eyes narrowed.

"A-Ah," Chouko let her head drop and stared at her feet, "No, of course not."

Chouko flinched as a soft thump was heard from beside her, expecting it to be Katsuya. Chouko sighed in relief as she noticed it was only a pair of ankle-high black boots. She brushed her curly brown hair out of her eyes as she looked up at Katsuya. Chouko picked up the boots cautiously, her eyes still on Katsuya.

"Katsuya, I think your boots slipped off." Chouko offered them to the older girl. She watched as Katsuya rolled her eyes and looked down at the young girl once more. For a moment Chouko thought she saw a sliver of warmth shine through Katsuya's eyes, but dismissed the thought immediately. Katsuya hated her, and they were so far away from each other Chouko had probably imagined it.

"They're for you. I can go barefoot. Put them on and hurry up."

Chouko hurried to slip the over-sized boots on. The look on Katsuya's face stopped her from complaining about the size.

* * *

"Would you mind shutting up!?" Katsuya whispered to Chouko, who was currently jumping back onto the roof of the target's house, after having just fallen off. For the _second_ time.

"Okay, coach, I'm ready! What do we do next?" During the run over to the house Chouko had found that it took less breathe to simply call Katsuya Coach instead of her full name. Though strange it may seem, Katsuya had warmed up to Chouko during the run, even allowing Chouko to call her by her little 'nickname'.

"Simple. We slip in, without getting caught. Cut the guy's throat and leave. Got it?" Katsuya allowed a small smile to grace her lips.

"C-Cut his throat? J-Just like th-that?"

Katsuya nodded, raising one of her eyebrows. Chouko's green eyes got even bigger than before.

"Is there a problem?" Katsuya could remember her first mission. How scared she was, how appalled she was at the though of _actually _killing someone. Sure, her dad had been teaching her how to do it effectively, and she had known that she was going to have to kill someone at one point. But nothing, _nothing_ could have prepared her for the last few regretful minutes before she carried out the action, nor the first few minutes she had endured after she had slid the kunai across his throat. She would never forget the guilt, remorse, and sadness she had felt sitting in a dark corner of her room,curled in the fetus position, balling her eyes out. She would also never forget the day she began thinking of her victims as nothing more than insects. It was easier to carry out her missions if she thought like that. She felt no regret, no remorse and no sadness. And now it was time for Chouko to go through the same transformation.

Chouko looked at her feet. She would not let them have the satisfaction of calling her a coward again. She would be like Katsuya: strong, brave, and confident. She would not be the weak link in her class ever again. She raised her gaze to meet Katsuya's. She gulped and mustered up all the strength she had and spoke her next few words . "No, not at all."

"Listen up. There are ninjas on duty keeping an eye over their precious Houtoy, so you _must_ be quiet at all costs. Here." Chouko struggled to catch whatever it was that Katsuya had thrown at her. She held the object in both hands staring at it in disbelief.

"Y-You mean..." Chouko swallowed as tears prickled at her eyes. "_I _have to do it?"

Katsuya rolled her eyes and placed a hand on the younger girl's shoulder, speaking warmly "Believe me when I say this, there is nothing more in this world that I want right now than to do be able to do this for you. It would be faster and easier for both of us. But unfortunately I cannot. You must be able to do it yourself. So just do it and do it fast. Don't even think about it."

Katsuya could almost hug the girl, but resisted. They were here on a mission. "There is a window on the east side of the building leading into the Houtoy's bedroom. As soon as we enter through the window, I'm sure some kind of alarm will go off, meaning that you only have a few seconds to complete the mission before a group of at least two Jounin show up. We do _not_ want to have an encounter with them. As soon as the deed is done you are to leap out of the window then you will follow me."

"But where will we run? I'm not a very fast runner and I'm sure the Jounin will be very fast. What if we get caught? We can't out run them!" Chouko began shaking her head vigorously.

"Ah, but we don't need to be able to outrun them. You see that house over there?" Katsuya continued slyly. "_That _will be our hiding place. After you cut the man's throat we will jump to that roof and in through one of their windows. And there we will act as though we live there and had nothing to do with anything. Got it?"

Chouko nodded her head once then whispered, her eyes still looking at her feet. "But... Will it work?"

Katsuya smirked. "Well we'll find out, won't we? But you must _not _be seen."

Katsuya held her arm out in the east direction, gesturing for Chouko to jump through the window first. Chouko clutched the kunai in her hand too tight, turning her knuckles white and walked hesitantly towards the edge of the building. Katsuya reassured herself that Chouko was holding the handle of the kunai instead of the actual blade and patted the girl's back. "Quick."

Chouko nodded and swung into the room. Katsuya heard a thump and shook her head. Even if there wasn't an alarm the Jounin would know they were there now. She followed suit of the girl and landed more gracefully in the dark room. She could already sense the Jounin running up the stairway. She looked around the room for the young girl. The room was made entirely out of a strong wood. Oak, Katsuya guessed. There was no light in the room, aside from the moon that shone through the window, silhouetting herself, the bed, the desk, and the bedside table. From what she could tell the walls were bare only having one portrait on the opposite wall from the bed.

_**'This room is so incredibly lame.'**_

Katsuya remembered her bedroom at her so-called home. It seemed almost exactly opposite of the room she was standing in. Even with little to no light, her room still seemed to glow with its own aura. Hanging from her ceiling were yellow, pink, and green Cochins, her bed was small but very comfortable with her green comforter and her assortment of different colored pillows. But her favorite part about her room were the many pictures hanging all over her purple walls. They were pictures that she had taken herself, from all the different places she had been. She loved taking pictures and found that she was actually _good _at it. She liked her room the way it was. It expressed her the way she was. Not as a trained killer, not as her father's disappointment, not as the stoic girl she was supposed to be. But as her true self. Her father however had a different idea of what her room should look like. He has been demanding her to decorate her room to more represent her job. Well, whatever. She didn't care. It was her room, the only place where she could really express herself and she wasn't about to change it.

Katsuya found Chouko standing at the side of the Houtoy's bed. Her right hand was reached out touching the man's cheek and looking at him with something Katsuya couldn't quite put her finger on. Regret? Sorrow? Katsuya had not felt either one for her victims in quite some time and wasn't about to get busted for Chouko feeling it.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Katsuya didn't bother whispering, the Jounin already knew the two girls were there. What was the point in trying to hide it? Though, she forgot to take in consideration of the Houtoy sleeping five feet away from her. He immediately jolted up, his back straight as a board. He was a middle-aged man with dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Katsuya assumed he would be a very handsome man if not for the terrified expression on his face.

"They're coming! Do it, damnit!"

The man's eyes flickered from Chouko to Katsuya and back to Chouko again. Her fingers were still brushing up against his cheek. She pulled them away with such a force, as though something had been holding them there. She switched the kunai to her right hand and raised it above her head. The Houtoy's eyes got even bigger as he covered his face with his arms, yet made no sound.

"I'm sorry." Chouko whispered and clutched her hands to her chest.

"Damnit Chouko!" Katsuya slung the girl onto her back and leapt out the window. Her feet hit the ground with a soft thud and she broke into a run. "You know, I should just leave you here. Or better yet, I should take you back to them claiming that I found you running through the streets and I was only doing my civic duty by catching you. Well what do you think of that, huh!? Do you think it sounds like a good plan, cause I sure as hell do! Are you listening to me!?"

"I thought you said there was going to be an alarm." Chouko buried her face into Katsuya's shoulder. The wind was starting to sting at her eyes, it was nothing like the wind she had felt when she was running by herself. Katsuya stopped as they entered the forest and flung Chouko off her back. She whipped around to glare at the young girl's curious expression, an expression that was all to familiar to Katsuya. She took a deep breath to calm herself and sighed.

"There was. Only very highly trained ears can hear it. Even I barely heard it." Katsuya walked over to the girl, pushing her up. "Let's go. They might still be looking for us. And give me my fucking boots."

Katsuya ripped the boots off the younger girl's feet, causing the girl to fall back once again. Chouko hurried to catch up to her elder, who had already begun her way back home. Katsuya definitely wasn't happy with her choice, but Chouko was proud of herself.

----- Back in Town ----

"Sir? Sir, are you alright?" The youngest of the Jounin, Yukio, rushed over to the Houtoy. He cautiously put his hands on either of the Houtoy's shoulders and begun shaking him gently.

"Not even a scratch." Hurito, a cocky Jounin, spoke crossing his arms. "I guess we got here just in time."

"Idiot. They had plenty of time to kill me." The Houtoy snapped out of his daze.

"Why didn't they?" The eldest Jounin, Toriona, asked sitting beside him. "Did they say?"

"No. They just ran."

"Did you get a good look at them? What did they look like?" Toriona asked standing up suddenly.

"The older girl, I think, was her mentor. She had flaming orange hair and was wearing all black, I didn't see her face, but judging by her height and voice I would say she was about thirteen or fourteen." The Houtoy stopped.

"Uh-huh. And the other one?"

The Houtoy hesitated. There was no question in his mind that the older girl would have killed him, but the younger girl didn't look as though she was happy doing what she was told to do. He didn't want to sell out a girl with such innocence, who really, hadn't done anything wrong. Yet. He wasn't sure that next time the young girl was sent out to kill someone, she would spare them as she had spared him. Best to just tell them.

"She had curly brown hair that went to her shoulders, emerald green eyes, and around the age of ten or eleven." The Houtoy touched his cheek, where the young girl had touched him.

"You heard him boys. Go find em' and bring them back to the Hokage's office. I'll stay with him, in case they come back." Toriona ordered in a voice that even the Houtoy wouldn't argue with.

"Right." The two male Jounin chorused. The Houtoy watched as they disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Toriona began coughing and the Houtoy looked over concerned. She was waving the smoke that the two had disappeared in away from her.

"Damn rookies. Always think that because they can do that now, they have to do it all the time." The Houtoy smiled in amusement as Toriona not-so-quietly cursed the newer Jounin.

"Go ahead and go to sleep, Houtoy. I'll be standing guard right in here, so no one will be getting in without my say-so." Toriona stood at the foot of his bed, crossing her arms. "You need your rest."

The Houtoy laid on his back, closed his eyes and tried to lull himself to sleep. His eyes snapped open as he remembered something. He rolled over on his side and found what he was looking for. The kunai was right where the girl had dropped it. He reached out from under his comforter to touch it.

"Sleep. Now."

Feeling like a child that had just been caught doing something very bad, he muttered an apology and covered his head with his blanket. He would never forget this night.

----Back With the Girls---

"There are no bad students. Only bad teachers."

Katsuya fell to the ground, shielding her head with her arms. She covered her mouth, pleading herself not to cry out as her father's foot connected with her stomach over and over again.

"How could you disappoint me!?" Another kick. "Answer me!"

"Please stop! Please!" Katsuya felt someone wrap their arms around her head. Kick. Kick. Kick.

"Get off, Chouko." Katsuya pushed away the young girl. Chouko would only get hurt if she got in the middle. She would not allow her father's anger to hurt Chouko as well. There was a pause in her father's attacks. Fury filled her as she began to wonder if he went after Chouko. She pulled herself onto her hands and knees, every being of her body protesting as she did so.

"So you can answer the little brat, but you can't answer me, your own father?!" And so the attack upon her body continued and she fell back to the ground, coughing up blood.

"Look at me when I talk to you!" The blue-eyed girl's scream echoed throughout the Yukikage's large dining hall as her father pulled her by her hair to his eye level. The girl mustered up all the blood in her mouth and spat into her father's face. She smirked through her pain as he dropped her to the ground, wiping the blood out of his eyes.

_**'He's gonna kill me anyways. Might as well get it all out of my system now. I certainly wouldn't want to die with anything unsaid or undone.'**_

"What's the matter, father? Got a little blood in your eye? I wouldn't think that such a thing would bother an _assassin_." Katsuya spat the word out. Her father reeled in for another punch, and Katsuya flew across the room and into a wall.

Chouko pushed herself farther back into the farthest corner and watched in horror as Katsuya continued to talk back to her father.

**'**_**Can't she see that it's only making things worse for her?' **_

Chouko eyes fleeted to the old man sitting in his throne-like chair. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed that he wore a look of amusement on his old features.

**'**_**Can't he see that Katsuya's father is borderline killing her!?' **_

The old man must have felt her gaze on him, because he turned his attention to the frightened girl hiding in the farthest corner.

"That's enough."

Relief flooded over Chouko as he spoke those two little words. She ran to Katsuya, and this time Katsuya didn't push her away as she helped her up. Katsuya felt as though she was going to faint and was thankful for the young girl's help. Even if it was said girl's fault she was in this situation in the first place.

"Katsuya. You have disgraced your father, myself, everyone in this organization, and most importantly, yourself. I know not what will become of you as of now, the council and I will decide that in a moment. The one thing I am sure of, however, is that you need to pack your bags, for you will either be leaving us alive or dead. That choice still rests with the council and myself. After you have completed packing you are to wait in your room until a guard retrieves you. You are to see no one." The Yukikage made a point of looking at Chouko. "Now go."

Katsuya pushed off Chouko, threw back her shoulders and walked out of the room. Even if they planned to kill her, she wasn't going to let her fear show through. She walked through the double doors leading out of the dining hall and into the stone built hallway. After scanning the area for any sign of someone else occupying the hallway besides herself, finding it empy she leaned up against a wall for support. She let her shoulders slump and the tears fall.

She was going to die. The ones that she called her family, her support, her role-models were going to kill her. And there was nothing that she could do about it. Unless...

_**'No, thats impossible. They are the best trackers that I know, and they are **_**fast**_**. Faster than I ever could hope to be. Even if I did get a head start they would surely catch me, making my death even slower and more painful than they would have in the beginning.'**_

Using the wall for support, Katsuya continued her slow journey to her room.

_'Pack your bags.' _

Those were the Yukikage's exact words. If he had said that, then maybe there was some hope that she would not be killed. Maybe the Yukikage himself did not want her dead. Maybe he was only going to have her exiled. Maybe....

Even if she was only exiled she would still have to endure leaving her father, her mother, her younger brothers, the Yukikage, her town and the many loving people living in it. It would be worse than death itself.

_**'No. It would be better than death, to continue living. It would be an honor, escaping with my life.'**_

Death was not certain, but then again neither was life. Katsuya would cling to the Yukikage's words and hope, with all her might, that she may be given a second chance at life.

* * *

_Well there it is! Ten pages of pure awesomeness (just kidding of course) Unfornately none of the Canon characters made their appearence, but this is more of a prologue to introduce Katsuya. Regardless they shall be in the next chapter!_

_**Chochin: Japanese lantern made out of a thin bamboo stick and fine Japanese paper**_

_Be sure to tell me what you think of it! _

_Ciao!_


End file.
